Tag: Plastic Pollution

A recent research has found a new way to detect very small pieces of plastic waste that float invisibly near the surface of the ocean using fluorescent dye. The method could be used one day to identify 99 percent of lost tiny pollutants in the sea.

Plastic pollution carried by a major ocean current has found its way into the Arctic ocean, threatening the region’s pristine ecosystem, a new study revealed. Researchers say the consequences can be “disastrous.”

Researchers of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) have estimated that 10,000 metric tons of plastic are entering Great Lakes every year. It highlights the danger of plastic being consumed by wildlife and entering the larger food chain as debris travels differently in the Great Lakes unlike in oceans.

Using an organometallic catalyst, scientists sped up the breakdown of polyethylene into liquid product that can be used as fuel. Once the process is scaled up, it can potentially make a dent in global plastic pollution.

More than 2,000 bottles arrived at Poldhu Cove on the Lizard Peninsula last Sunday, prompting cleanup and disposal operations. Environmental groups warned of the potential environmental risks to marine animals and worsening plastic pollution in the oceans.

A new study conducted by researchers at the State University of New York Fredonia has found that brands of sea salt sold in China contain high amounts of microplastics. This raises concerns about the potential effects of the synthetic material on human health.

Tiny plastic microbeads that give personal care products their scrubbing, cleansing action are ending up in oceans and threatening wildlife, researchers say. They are urging a total ban on the use of the tiny plastic particles.

Researchers found that almost all population of seabirds will have plastic debris in their gut by 2050. If current trends continue and effective waste management measures will not take place, this prediction is more likely to happen.